Arbaeen is here...already!

As Salaam Alaikum dear readers,

My heartfelt condolences to the entire ummah as we approach Arbaeen of Imam Hussain (A.S) and prepare to give pursa to our beloved Bibi Syeda (A.S) on this sad occasion.   May Bibi accept all of our efforts in remembering the holy sacrifice by her beloved family members inshAllah.

It is hard to believe Moharram is almost over!  Arbaeen is here already! 
Our days to grieve and mourn for our beloved Imam and his progeny on a day to day basis has already passed... Despite the fact that the sorrow and grief of the supreme sacrifice stays with us all year round, I still feel our emotions naturally peak during Moharram/Safar due to the increased participation in Majaalis and Soz.  For this reason I feel sad that these months will end soon. 

I think each year, the approach of Moharram and Safar help recharge our spirituality and enable us to ground ourselves so to speak.  For me it works as a month of spiritual cleansing just like for many Ramadhan is the month to spiritually cleanse ourselves.  I believe we are blessed to have so many opportunities by Allah S.W.T to cleanse our body, mind and soul and yet we indulge in acts that hurt our souls and our hereafter!

This time of the month reminds me of the beautiful nauha that I often heard Ali Deep Rizvi recite in Baltimore: 

Yeh sada yeh fughan aur yeh majlisen...  

maatam aur noha aur gham ki yeh zeenatain...  

chahata hai yeh dil yunhi qaem rahay... 

aah bharta  hai dil kis tarhan yeh kahe.. 

Alvida Alvida Alvida ae Hussain

(Listen to audio here)

InshAllah let us comemorate the upcoming Arbaeen of our Imam (A.S) with our heart and soul and give pursa to bibi for her great loss inshAllah.

More laters,

Zehra

Shyroze Jaffer Dhalla

Assalaam Alaikum Dear Readers,

It has been a little while since I blogged.  Mainly a hectic lifestyle and unfortunate that I am unable to spend some time out of my day to revive my thoughts and mind.

A wave of fresh air passed through me as I heard Zakira Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla speak at our mosque this Moharram (1435).  It was a much needed discussion for many as I noticed.  Some taboo topics that usually no one discusses about in public.  With these topics ofcourse came the confusion from the older generation as to whether there should be discussion about etiquettes and common day-to-day manners in kids (boys and girls alike).

I say why not!?  if we dont discuss it in public, our kids will think that its a foreign topic that has no importance, therefore it is not discussed ever!  This current generation thinks and feels different and it is very obvious!  Kids today are not easily convinced, bombarded by media and they easily accept anything that makes sense to them.  I believe it is our responsibility to make "religion" make sense to them.  Unless they understand it, they will not practice it!

To make someone understand any concept in general, it is important to spark interest in that topic.  As a common analogy that most people use from back home, you can memorize all you want, but unless you understand the basics of a concept or topic, you cannot really understand the topic.  Its like a 2 year old child that speaks english and repeats every word a parent says, but unless they know the A,B and C, they dont know what english is.  They only know the words they heard which they can forget easily if you do not repeat it in front of them!

I personally think Zakira Shyrose touched on some important issues and concerns that are among everyone.  So what if she is not a fiqh student and has not studied in Hawza?  She was teaching based on her understanding of religion and her knowledge of education and psychology.  She did not touch on anything that could spark religous debate!  It was all purely logic and understanding! and best of all, the young girls could relate to her!

I hope and pray we can invite her here again and more speakers like her as well.  A community needs some new fresh breath of air to rewire their minds!

InshAllah more later... I leave you with Zakira Shyrose Jaffer's website for further understanding and some interesting articles written by her!
Definitely a woman of many talents!

Best regards,
iltimaas-e-dua
Zehra